Thursday, May 5, 2011

Q: With all the changes in the entertainment industry (such as movies available to download via Facebook) and in the publishing industry (such as imminent demise of Borders), what do you think the future holds for book authors?

A: The one thing we can be sure about is that, with all this change happening, there will be major impact on what opportunities book authors have for the extension of books beyond traditional publishing or self-publishing.

The April 21st Wall Street Journal had the article “Cheapest E-Books Upend the Charts” by Jeffrey A. Trachtenberg. The article began:

“The nation's largest book publishers are facing increasing pricing pressure on the digital front as the number of cheap, self-published digital titles gain popularity with readers seeking budget-minded entertainment.

“Amazon.com Inc.'s top 50 digital best-seller list featured 15 books priced at $5 or less on Wednesday afternoon. Louisville businessman John Locke, for example, a part-time thriller writer whose signature series features a former CIA assassin, claimed seven of those titles, all priced at 99 cents.”

Perhaps the most important information in the article is how Locke isn’t interested in New York publishing houses. Currently he can decide for himself what and when to publish, something that probably isn’t an option with a New York publishing house.

But he has hired a literary agent “to field movie offers and deal with foreign publishers interested in releasing his books overseas.”

Based on the information in the article, I plan to use Kindle Direct Publishing for my novel adaptation of two screenplays about Lt. Commander Mollie Sanders that I wrote with my husband (see www.molliesanders.com). I want to try an experiment publishing this only on Kindle and see what happens. (I first have to finish the adaptation.)

Here is one very important thing we all need to be aware of whether we self-publish, publish with a small publishing house or a large publisher:

We need to keep as many of the rights connected to a book – present and future – that we possibly can.

If delivery platforms are changing practically at the speed of light, as authors we want to be able to take advantage of these new platforms. And even in self-publishing we may not have all the rights we think we do.

I self-published my novel “Mrs. Lieutenant” through Amazon’s BookSurge, which is now folded into Amazon’s CreateSpace. I thought I kept all the rights myself. But do I have the right to change the Kindle price to 99 cents? (I’m in the midst of finding this out.)

Whichever way you publish your books, be sure to read the contracts very, very carefully. (A lawyer who specializes in book contracts is probably a good idea.)

You don’t want to discover that a new delivery platform has been developed but you can’t take advantage of it because you gave away the right that would have allowed you to do so.

Phyllis Zimbler Miller (@ZimblerMiller on Twitter) has an M.B.A. from The Wharton School and is the co-founder of the social media marketing company Miller Mosaic. You can learn about her fiction and nonfiction books at her Amazon author page at http://budurl.com/PZMAmazonpage

These are certainly changing times with all kinds of new opportunities.

At the moment my business partner and I are working on helping to publish a fantasy book by a 92-year-old woman -- THE EDNALOR MYSTERIES -- through CreateSpace. It's so exciting to be able to do this for her!

While I see that the WSJ is still in the business of slurring all e-published authors as self published amateurs, it is advisable to bear in mind that not all self-published writers are equal.

The material produced by mid-list conventionally published authors who have self e-published works their publishers have relinquished, and non-fiction self-publishers who have real credentials for their works, is far from the general run of self-published fiction writers who have never even met an editor. For awhile I tried writing reviews for an online site and in the interests of fairness accepted a number of self published works -- most of which turned out to be excruciatingly painful to read.

I think that's why word-of-mouth continues to be so important to an author. Promoting has to incorporate reader reactions plus somehow add the merits of paying for a book by an unknown self-published author. But if I can buy good books for 99 cents, I'm going to jump at the chance.

Thanks for the comment, Chris. I think poorly written self-published novels will always be a problem. It's a shame they didn't care enough to get the help of a good editor.

Talk about the changes in the publishing world -- here's the first two paragraphs of the May 7th Wall Street Journal article "Three Publishers Aim to Sell E-Books Directly to Readers" by Jeffrey A. Trachtenberg:

"Three leading book publishers are developing a website to sell physical and digital titles directly to consumers in a bid to widen the distribution of books as the number of bookstores in the U.S. continues to decline.

"CBS Corp.'s Simon & Schuster Inc., Pearson PLC's Penguin Group (USA) and Lagardere SCA's Hachette Book Group are investing in the new site, called Bookish, scheduled to launch this summer. The site will allow consumers to recommend books to friends and access a wide array of information about authors and titles, said Paulo Lemgruber, the new venture's chief executive."

As a reader I think it's a wild idea. It's too soon to tell if I still have a range of choices to pick from. As a writer, I like the idea but I'm not sold on the thought that only ebooks are destined to be part of our future. I can't be the only person who still enjoys holding a book, feeling the pages turn. Ebooks are great, but I still miss being able to choose a page at random.

My debut novel, Between, is launching June 1. I published it in print through Createspace, in Kindle format through Amazon and in other ebook formats through Smashwords.

My main marketing strategy is lining up bloggers to review the book. I have over 140 scheduled for June. Price is important, but I think that word of mouth is a critical tool, even more so for independently published authors.

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I am Métis from Canada. I began my first novel in 1983 to honour my dad's memory. Today my husband and I live in the home we built with our own hands on Cluculz Lake. My first novel Dead Witness was a finalist in the 2012 Global eBook Awards. Suspense thriller Broken But Not Dead won the 2012 IPPY Silver Medal for Canada West. Mâtowak: Woman Who Cries was released November 1, 2016. Maski was released April 18, 2017. The audiobook version of Matowak is set for release June 2017. I provide editing services for writers and am currently applying final touches on a suspense thriller and a children's book.I spend my winters in Bucerias, Nayarit. If you want to talk writing or about life in general, contact me at cluculzwriter at yahoo dot ca. I'm always here.

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Rave review

... from the author of the Joanne Kilbourn series.

Joylene Butler’s protagonist, Professor Brendell Meshango, is a complex and uniquely Canadian character. She is a strong woman, but neither her Aboriginal childhood, her adult success as an academic, nor her fierce loyalty to her own child prepare her, or us, for the terror that strikes when she becomes the victim of a, seemingly random home invasion. The action in “Broken But Not Dead” is gripping; the characters are rich and the climax riveting.

-- Gail Bowen

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But some who live and prosper because of steam will to do anything to save their way of life, even to kill Al as often as they need to.Buy here

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Dead Witness

Dead Witness, a novel

Valerie McCormick is a wife and mother from small town Canada. While visiting Seattle, she becomes the only witness to the brutal seaside murder of two FBI agents. When she flees to the nearest police station to report the crime, she becomes caught up in a web of international intrigue and danger. Suddenly, she and her family are in the sights of ruthless criminals bent on preventing her from testifying against the murderer. Even with FBI protection, Valerie is not safe. Whisked away from her family and all that is familiar to her, Valerie fights back against the well intentioned FBI to ultimately take control over her life with every ounce of fury a mother can possess.
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